Why Bill Simmons Thinks Patriots Should Tank For USC QB Caleb Williams

The New England Patriots might be one of the worst teams in the NFL.

It sounds crazy for a franchise that dominated the league for two decades. Yet, the numbers are that ugly through five weeks of the 2023 season. And the eye test is even more damning after back-to-back blowout losses to the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints.

The conversation surrounding the Patriots nowadays isn’t about Super Bowl parades or playoff victories. It’s about whether they should fire Bill Belichick and just how high New England will pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

The Ringer’s Bill Simmons even made the case Sunday night — after the Patriots lost 34-0 to the Saints at Gillette Stadium — that New England should bottom out, with an eye toward landing USC quarterback Caleb Williams.

Simmons, a Patriots fan, ranked New England 30th in his latest “power poll,” ahead of only the Carolina Panthers and the Denver Broncos.

Simmons believes there are six teams with a legitimate shot at the No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming draft: the Panthers, Broncos, Patriots, Chicago Bears, New York Giants and Arizona Cardinals.

“I think there are six teams that are going to be in this Caleb Williams sweepstakes,” Simmons said. “The question that I was texting my friends about today is just, like, ‘It’s time right?’ If we’re ever going to have a chance to get another franchise quarterback, this season seems like it’s wide open.”

Tom Brady’s departure before the 2020 season obviously left a huge void at the Patriots’ quarterback position. The Cam Newton experience proved underwhelming. And Mac Jones, the 15th overall pick in 2021, hasn’t fared much better.

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Sure, Jones isn’t the only problem plaguing New England. But he simply doesn’t appear capable of elevating his supporting cast. So, it might be time for the Patriots to go back to the QB well this offseason. A high draft pick — by virtue of tanking — could prove advantageous in the long run.

“They have a really tough schedule, they’ve had injuries on defense already, they have the worst offense in the league other than maybe Carolina, and I can’t think of a single reason why this team would think it has a chance to compete because it’s not going to be able to,” Simmons said of the Pats. “They got absolutely annihilated by New Orleans (on Sunday). Annihilated. Mac is unplayable. They have, I would say, one of the four worst offensive lines in the league. They have no skill-position guys you would write home about. And the defense got worse because of the injuries. I just don’t see a path for them to not be 3-14, so why not embrace it? Why not trade a couple of guys and try to bottom out? I think this is the year to do it.”

The Patriots don’t need the No. 1 overall pick to select a potential franchise quarterback. There are other high-end QB prospects — like North Carolina’s Drake Maye, for instance — who also could turn around a team’s fortunes.

But Williams is the consensus top quarterback available in 2024. Replacing Jones with the Trojans star could be the first step toward New England returning to relevancy.

It just might require the Patriots to take a step back before two steps forward.